The fact is, very little is found relating to dinosaurs in Biblical scriptures and the rare passages that are proposed by some Bible scholars, to be referring to them are in question. Some wonder whether the Bible actually refers to dinosaurs or whether the passages are simply misunderstood.
Scriptural References to Unidentified Creatures
The book of Job, chapters 40 and 41 refer to creatures called "behemoth" and “leviathan” that many believe to be references to dinosaurs that existed with mankind.
Job 40 (excerpt) says, “Behold now behemoth ... eateth grass as an ox. ... He moveth his tail like a cedar: ...Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth."
Job 41 (exerpt) says, “Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? ... his teeth are terrible round about. ...His scales are his pride ... Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out. ... He maketh the deep to boil like a pot:..."
Three possible options these creatures could fall under include the following:
- real animals that exist somewhere in the world today;
- unreal, mythological monsters; and
- real but extinct creatures.
The Bible, at times ,makes reference to mythological creatures for example-purposes or to symbolically make a point. The following two scriptures are an example of this:
Isaiah 27:1 says, “In that day Jehovah with his hard and great and strong sword will punish leviathan the swift serpent, and leviathan the crooked serpent; and he will slay the monster that is in the sea.” (This is a description of God putting down all evil enemies that oppose his plan and purpose in the earth.)
Revelation says, “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.”(This is a description of the future anti-Christ leader and his base of power on the earth.)
The following scripture seems to refer to an existing creature rather than a symbolic one.
Psalms 104:26 says, “There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.”
There are not enough mentions to state with certainty that dinosaurs are referenced in the scriptures. Even if behemoth and leviathan were dinosaur-like, this would not necessarily place the dinosaur age in-general together with that of mankind.
Massive Prehistoric Creatures
If the passages in Job do refer to dinosaur-like creatures rather than crocodiles, whales, hippos, sharks, komodo dragons or anacondas, the references are very scant. If writers of the scriptures had literally seen a “Brachiosaurus” for example, that weighed 80 tons (160,000 Lb – 17 times larger than an elephant) or one of the other larger dinosaurs (i.e. “Seismosaurus” – the length of three greyhound buses), this would have been such an earth-shaking experience (literally) that there would be far more references to them in the scriptures by the over 40 different Bible authors.
A “tyrannosaurus rex,” being a meat-eater and fierce predator and the others in that category would have struck terror in people causing them to flee for shelter at their appearance. They would not have been able to protect their livestock from them and references to dinosaur-attacks or eyewitness observations of them would have been important events. Readers will find no such references in the scriptures.
Did Dinosaurs Exist in Noah’s Day?
The Bible strongly indicates that the world was highly populated when God instructed Noah to build the Ark because the ensuing flood was worldwide (many ancient cultures reference the event). If dinosaurs, were created under Adam’s domain, as stated in Genesis 1:26 (all types of creatures described), they would certainly have been around when Noah built the Ark which occurred approximately 2,000 years after Adam is said to have been created.
It's been proposed that more than 300 dinosaur species that existed and some argue that it's highly improbable that the all these animals became extinct in such a relatively short period of time.
If all dinosaurs, combined with animals, entered the Ark in pairs or in sevens, this would have resulted in huge numbers of creatures, representing a massive amount of weight. Why, if after Noah’s family and the animals came out of the Ark and God told them “be fruitful, multiply and replenish the earth” (Genesis 9:7), would the dinosaurs not be here today? With the Noah’s Ark event being approximately 4,000 years ago, this would be a comparative “drop in the bucket” (very short time) for all species of dinosaurs to have collectively become extinct.
The New Testament was written approximately 2,000 years forward from the time of Noah ( about 2,000 years previous to present time). Dinosaurs are also not mentioned as existing at that time (Jesus’ day). This would not have been enough time for hundreds of species to have become extinct and would not fit with reasoning to suggest that they did disappear. One explanation is found in a Bible doctrine called “The Genesis Gap” that proposes a catastrophic pre-Adamic (prehistoric – before Adam) event likely caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.
It is highly probable that, dinosaurs existed during a pre-Adamic time period and that they did not co-exist with mankind.
Sources:
Institute for Biblical & Scientific Studies
Answering Genesis.org (differing view for comparative)
Jim Lowrance - James M. (Jim) Lowrance has authored over 100 book and ebook publications since year 2004.
